273. Penobscot Bay Brewing Whig Street Blonde

Last night my wife wanted to share a beer before supper so I checked the fridge for something light and not very hoppy as that is her preferred style. Whig Street Blonde from Penobscot Bay was a great choice.


Being a blonde ale it is light in color, body and alcohol content. Color is a crystal clear pale orange with a slight white head. Color is a bit dark for a blonde but still a nice looking beer. Aroma is quite mellow with some malts. Taste is simple with a slight hop bite in the middle that fades fast. Finishes clean and quite refreshing. Overall a simple beer (as most blondes are) but good stuff for a warm afternoon. 
Pros: Easy to drink
Cons: Simple
Alcohol Content: ??% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): ??
Rating: 
Brewers Website: Penosbscot Bay Brewing

Brewers Description:  Whig Street blonde ale is soft and delicate with balanced flavors and aromas. The taste is uncomplicated and clean. It is made from pale malt, a handful of malted wheat and finished with Perle hops for bittering and Cascade for aroma. It’s an easy drinking, comfortable ale for those lazy days and laid-back nights.

Growlers - the best way to drink beer at home

If you have been following my blog lately you will have noticed a lot of growlers purchased and reviewed. Most growlers are sold directly from the brewery at times convenient for the brewers. This is beer that comes straight from the kegs into a 64 ounce glass container, capped and sent home with you and in my opinion the very best way to enjoy craft beer at your home, family gathering or other event. I have growlers from most of the Maine breweries that offer them and refill them as often as possible. They store well in the refrigerator and will last 7-10 days if unopened (in theory they could last a lot longer but somehow they never do in my fridge as they opened and consumed shortly after purchase). Once opened you have a couple of days to finish. 64 ounces is 4 pints of beer so for me 2 pints a night for 2 nights and it is gone. Below is a recap and photos of growlers from several Maine breweries.

Oxbow Brewing Company - Newcastle Maine

Oxbow is one of my favorite breweries and if you want to enjoy their beer at home you have to visit their brewery between 2:00 and 6:00 on a Friday afternoon / evening. This is the only time the brewery is open for growler fills. I do not recall the cost for growlers but I believe it is $15 for a new growler and $12 for a refill. Whatever the cost is this is money well spent as every beer from Oxbow is top notch and unlike anything else you will get in Maine. They also distribute kegs to bars and restaurants in Maine and Washington DC so keep an eye out for their clear tap handles and if Oxbow is on tap give it a try. 

Tim & Geoff are great and you will enjoy the time you spend at Oxbow checking out the artwork and brewery. I believe sales are cash only so make sure you plan ahead.

Rising Tide Brewing Company - Portland Maine

Rising Tide only recently started selling growlers after moving their brewery to Fox Street in Portland. They have installed a tasting room and will be filling growlers from 4-7 on Tuesdays and Thursdays / 12-3 on Fridays and Saturdays with tours at 1:00 on most Fridays and Saturdays. Nathan and Heather have an excellent brewery and are great people, again you will enjoy your time at the brewery and certainly will enjoy the beer.

Cost was around $17 for the first full growler and I believe it was $11 for refills. Cash is preferred however they will run a credit or debit card if needed. I will be down there on Tuesday and will update this post with the accurate cost then. 

Read more after the break

250. Penobscot Bay Brewery Winnah 2011

I visited Penobscot Bay Brewery last week and while I was there picked up the 3 beers they brew that I had not tried yet including the Winnah 2011 which is the beer that won the 2011 Home Brew Contest in Bangor, ME. The winner was Nate Engelbrecht and he was invited to the brewery to make a batch of his Rye IPA to bottle and sell. Penobscot Bay brewed another batch of this beer in recent weeks and is bottling one last time before the next home brew contest. I believe the beer will remain in their lineup under a different name and I hope it does.


Color is a deep orange almost brown with a thick off white head. Aroma has some citrus hops and plenty of sweet malts. Taste starts with plenty of malts and has a solid hop finish with some grapefruit and pine flavors. This is the first rye beer that I truly enjoyed and is very well balanced. Really enjoyed this one and will grab a couple more bottles the next time I am in Winterport. If you are interested in a bottle let me know and I will grab you one too as this will be gone soon. 
Pros: Very well balanced
Cons: 
Alcohol Content: 7% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): ??
Rating:  
Brewers Website: Penobscot Bay Brewery

Brewers Description: Not currently listed on their website. 

203. Penobscot Bay Red Flannel Ale (growler)

Visited the winery / brewery / restaurant in Winterport last week and picked up a growler of Red Flannel Ale as it was on special. This is my first growler from Penobscot Bay, I really enjoy growlers. The beer itself tasted just as I remember it from the bottle although this time I had 64 ounces of it instead of just the 22 from the bomber. Also while visiting the brewery I saw bottles of their 2011 homebrew contest IPA which I hope they bring back this year. If you happen to be in the Winterport area I suggest you stop by Winterport Winery. Also be sure to check out their website for the schedule of beer or wine dinners, cooking classes or events check out the link below. Great people making quality beer and wine right here in Maine. 
Pros: Complex flavor, the right amount of sweet

Cons: 

Alcohol Content: ??% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): ??
Rating:  
Brewers Website: Penobscot Bay Brewery

Brewers Description: Red flannels keep you warm and so will this hearty ale. Mostly Pale malt but full bodied and flavor from the Special B. Roasted Barley and Munich for color. There is a sweet aroma followed by rich, malty flavors with added notes of Perle hops for bittering. Best enjoyed slowly and at cellar temperature. Drink some now, and lay some aside for the future.

195. Penobscot Bay Brewery Half Moon Stout

My fifth beer from Penobscot Bay Brewing and one their better offerings. The beer pours a very dark almost black color with thin tan head. Taste was what you would expect from a stout; roasted malts, some chocolate tones, nothing too surprising here but a solid every day stout. Mouth feel was right on as well. This is a slightly above average stout but not as good as Gritty's or some of the other stouts I have reviewed in the past few months. 
Pros: Good example of the style

Cons: 

Alcohol Content: 5.5% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): ??
Rating:  
Brewers Website: Penobscot Bay Brewery

Brewers Description: In 1609 Henry Hudson entered Penobscot Bay in the vessel the "Half Moon". Four hundred years later the Half Moon is back in Penobscot Bay! Based on an old porter recipe described as brave, proud, or "Stout". A one hour mash of pale, crystal, chocolate and wheat malts, and a large portion of roasted barley yield this dark, full-bodied stout with a heavy aroma of fresh roasted coffee. The mild Fuggles hops balances the bitterness.

160. Penobscot Bay Humble B

This is the fourth beer from Penobscot Bay Brewery and so far this is the first that is truly forgettable. The color is a clean light orange with a decent white head. Minimal aroma, slightly sweet but the taste is where it falls short. Very simple with hints of ginger but really not much else going on. Easy to drink with a low ABV made this one tolerable but not really my style. Guess I have been having too many stouts and porters recently to really enjoy a light beer. 
Pros: Color

Cons: Lack of taste

Alcohol Content: 4.9 ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): ??

Rating: 

Brewers Website: Penobscot Bay Brewery
Brewers Description: Humble B spiced lager is our version of a "Light Munich" or pale lager. It was slowly fermented and then cold conditioned for months before bottling. Made with lager malt, a touch of wheat, ground fresh ginger, and local Winterport honey. Lightly hopped with Hallertan and Tettmanger which are noted for lower bitterness and more aroma thus allowing the spice from the ginger and the sweetness from the honey to fill the glass.

144. Penobscot Bay Brewery Old Factory Whistle Scottish Ale

This is my third offering from Penobscot Bay and so far I have been impressed with this small brewery. This one was a bit of a disappointment though. Color is great with no head, not a lot of aroma but a bit of grain. When tasting the beer the first thing you notice is how thin it feels, almost watered down. It is easy to drink and does not taste bad but I really had hoped for more. Overall something I did not mind drinking but if I had my choice of offerings from Penobscot Bay Brewery this one would be on the bottom of the list. 
Pros: Color

Cons: Thin almost watery feel

Alcohol Content: 6.2 ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): ??

Rating: 

Brewers Website: Penobscot Bay Brewery

Brewers Description: Old Factory Whistle, our signature ale, is patterned after red ales that have a rich Scottish heritage. This ale utilizes crystal, pale, chocolate and Munich malts with a dose of roasted barley resulting in a complex mixture of the toasty flavors of caramel malt and sweetness, and a classic rich red color. English Kent Golding hops add to the depth and help produce that pleasing balance

134. Penobscot Bay Meadow Road Wheat

I am always up for a good hefeweizen as it is one of my favorite styles of beer. Seems each brewer has a slightly different take on the style but I like the cloudy pale yellow coloring and the low alcohol volume usually makes it easy to drink. I prefer this style of beer during the warm summer months but came across this one at The Vault in Lewiston so I decided to give it a try. It pours a cloudy pale yellow (lighter than the picture here appears) with a huge head that sticks around leaving great lacing on the glass. Makes the first few drinks difficult because of the excessive foam. Aroma is fruity with some clove and banana and the taste is OK with lots of carbonation in the mouth. I usually do not notice the carbonation of the beer when drinking it and on this one it stands out. Not my favorite hefeweizen but one that would go down easy on a hot summer afternoon. 
Pros: Aroma, Color

Cons: Excessive carbonation

Alcohol Content: ??% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): ??
Rating:  
Brewers Website: Penobscot Bay Brewery

Brewers Description: Meadow Road Wheat is true to the Hefeweizen tradition of being unfiltered. It uses only malted wheat, lager malt, a top-fermenting Bavarian yeast, and is lightly topped with Tettnang. It has a beautiful medium-golden yeasty haze with a bright palate. The nose has notes of clove and honeysuckle coming through a background of banana.

Pour smoothly into a tilted, rinsed glass, pausing when there's about a quarter of the bottle left, swirl the bottle to lift any sediment, and then finish pouring into the glass. This should produce a nice fragrant head.

131. Penobscot Bay Red Flannel Ale

This is a new brewery for me and one that I had not even heard of before finding this beer at Florian's Market in Auburn. This one pours a great dark brown - could almost pass for Pepsi, minimal head with some nice sweet malt/caramel aroma. Taste is pretty sweet with plenty of complex flavors including plenty of malt, caramel, toffee and a bit of maple in there. Finishes clean with minimal hop bite. This is a solid offering from a small brewer, if you can find this one in store than you should certainly give it a try. 
Pros: Complex flavor, the right amount of sweet

Cons: Hard to find

Alcohol Content: ??% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): ??
Rating: 
Brewers Website: Penobscot Bay Brewery

Brewers Description: Red flannels keep you warm and so will this hearty ale. Mostly Pale malt but full bodied and flavor from the Special B. Roasted Barley and Munich for color. There is a sweet aroma followed by rich, malty flavors with added notes of Perle hops for bittering. Best enjoyed slowly and at cellar temperature. Drink some now, and lay some aside for the future.